Consecration of Ram temple on January 22 in Ayodhya has thrown open multiple questions in the public domain. Question such as who has the patent right for Ram, is it the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and whether it’s the only one person and none else, RSS’s mandir-man Modi has the right to enter into the mandirs across the country. Also, why, the most important issue, persons like L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, who had launched and spearheaded the movement for demolition of Babri Masjid and construction of Ram Mandir in the 1980s and 90s, were not allowed access to the celebration, and whether RSS is on a mission to redefine the religious importance and relevance of Ram through Modi.
These questions look for an explanation from Bhagwat since he is the key person who choreographed the celebration, with Modi at the front. Bhagwat also has to answer whether January 22’s celebration was meant to send a message to the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and all other communities that they have no place in the New India of his dream. Being the pandit of Hindu religion, he must be aware that Ramayan has been scripted in many of the languages and gets mentioned in religions of India. Even Muslims have Ramayan and the epic of Malaysia is famous across the world. Then what made them to keep the gurus, saints and priests of these religions away from the celebration? RSS certainly has its readymade explanation to this query: that it was not a government event obviously; the Ram Janma Bhoomi trust did not invite these people. But it’s not the truth.
RSS wanted to send the message that India is the exclusive domain of Hindus and other religions are irrelevant. Even if one subscribes to the clarification that the celebration was not a government-sponsored event, in that case the Trust must not have allowed Modi to perform the task of the Jajman/priest. Like other participants, he could have watched the celebration from outside the sanctum sanctorum. The consecration should have been done by someone else, preferably by someone who launched the movement. And in that spectre, the ultimate choice should have been Advani. He launched the rath yatra without bothering for large-scale communal riots, in which thousands of Muslims were killed across the country. Bad luck for Advani though; he was sent the invitation letter, however, was directed not to venture into Ayodhya!
Bhagwat might have moved one firm step towards changing the constitutional character of India, but the consecration event revealed the highest form of sycophancy. Some so-called Hindu saints forgetting their religious lineage and sense, sang eulogies for Modi. Acharya Govind Dev Giri from Maharashtra described Modi as Shivaji reborn, saying, “God has sent him (Shivaji) to us again. A Shrimant Yogi is standing before us…. He has purified himself to attend the sacredness of a sadhu.”
In Hindu mythology; Ram is omnipresent, he is the creator of the universe. This has been broadly spelt out in Mahabharata when Lord Krishna opens his mouth and shows that the entire world was in his mouth. But see the audacity of Modi and Bhagwat. Both of them did not hesitate in saying that Ram Lalla has finally got a place to live. This only underlines that power has gone into their minds. Ram had not fled Ayodhya. Instead he had gone on exile to fulfill his father’s wishes, and eventually on a mission to fight the demons that abducted Sita. It was indeed shocking to listen: “Ram Lalla has come to Ayodhya, but why did he leave Ayodhya? According to the Ramayan, he left Ayodhya because there was discord in Ayodhya. Ayodhya has to be without tension, discord or confusion. He (Ram) went into vanavas for 14 years. He returned to Ayodhya after resolving discord across the world. Ram Lalla has come back again after 500 years.”
It is beyond imagination to what extent these people can go on to distort the Hindu epics and mythology. After the consecration, Bhagwat remembered to preach his lesson in morality. He advised: “We have to behave accordingly. We have to discard all the discords…. We have to discard our small differences…. Everybody is ours and this is why we are able to move forward. We have to behave in a coordinated manner with each other, which is the first truth of religion. Compassion is the second necessity, which includes service (seva) and charity (paropkar).” It was soothing to the ears.
But unfortunately while Bhagwat was acting as the priest at the celebration, something was happening in far Assam, which definitely furrowed his sermon to “stay in one’s senses amid all this excitement”. Rahul Gandhi, who was leading Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, was not allowed to visit the Sri Sri Sankar Dev Satra in Nagaon district of Assam. Surprisingly, it coincided with the inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya. Only a day ahead, Gandhi was granted the permission. But once he reached there he was denied the entry. The reason cited was really ridiculous and flimsy. The district officials told him that some ritual was going on inside the temple and allowing him could create law and order problem. The most shocking explanation from the police and district administration was: “Everyone can go to the birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva, only ‘Rahul Gandhi cannot go.’”
He could go inside after 3 in the afternoon, by the time the consecration in Ayodhya would be over. Was Modi afraid that allowing Rahul entry into the Sankardeva’s temple would take away the shine from him and make the camera crews to turn its focus on Rahul? Or was it a design to send the message that none else, except the RSS’s Mandir-Man Modi has the exclusive right to visit any temple at any point of time. Or was it meant to convey the message that Modi was the only Hindu who has got the inherent right to visit any Mandir and Rahul was not entitled of this privilege.
Rahul, as natural corollary of the incident, sat on dharna on the main road while party MP Gaurav Gogoi and Batadrava MLA Sibamoni Bora proceeded to the birthplace to see the situation prevailing there. The government officials like their political masters had lied. In fact, the priests at the temple were waiting for Rahul. But this move of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma misfired. People were quite angry with him for his nasty action. Sarma had earlier announced that all government educational institutes would be closed in the State on the occasion of consecration ceremony. To his bad luck, the common people and students used the holiday to squat on the roads against this design of Sarma and Modi.
Gogoi said: ”A lie and rumour was spread that a law and order situation could have risen if Gandhi had visited the place. The chief minister has stamped a black spot in the history of Batadrava and the legacy of Sri Sankardeva”. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh levelled allegation against Modi of exerting pressure on Sarma to prevent Gandhi from visiting the birthplace of Srimant Sankardeva.
One thing is absolutely clear that Modi may be anything else, but he is certainly not an astute politician. His hunger for power is so acute that he can do any thing to get it. The manner in which Sarma treated Rahul, the later has overnight become the darling of the local people. His all machinations to prevent the people, especially women, from having a glimpse of Rahul’s yatra have failed. The women preferred to rush to see him, instead of continuing in queue to collect some financial dole.
While there is no ambiguity that Modi has been on a strong footing and enjoying the overwhelming support of the “80 per cent” Hindus of the country, he must not have stooped so low and resorted such actions. There was no need for him to move around entire southern India, visit the temples and prostrate before the deities and gods. He has undertaken the task since he is not entirely sure of Hindu support. It is in this backdrop he intends to arouse the Hindu sensibility for his electoral success through these machinations.
It is a known fact that Modi is a self-publicist. After the consecration in the style of self- eulogy, Modi counted the pain he underwent through the last eleven days for performing the task of Jajman. He said: “During my 11 days of fast and rituals, I tried to visit places where Ram had stopped. It is my good fortune that, with this purity in mind, I got the opportunity to travel from the sea to the Sarayu.” Modi did not mention Chitrakoot, where Ram had spent most of his time in the forest.
He did not hide his intentions of using Ram to win the Lok Sabha election. He had won 2014 Lok Sabha election by making false promises and deprecating Congress, then he used ultra-nationalism and the mysterious genocide of soldiers to win 2019 election, and this time he would use religious nationalism with the blessing of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to win LS election.
Under attack for destroying democracy and subverting Constitution, Modi used the forum for consecration to speak politics and motivate the people to vote for him. He referred to the Constitution in the Ayodhya context with the pure aim as attestation of faith. “In India’s Constitution, in its first copy, Lord Ram is present. Even after the advent of the Constitution, legal battles over the existence of Lord Shri Ram continued for decades,” Modi said. “I express my gratitude to the judiciary of India, which upheld the dignity of justice. The temple of Lord Ram, synonymous with justice, was also built in a judicial manner.”
Through consecration he managed to send a clear and loud message that he was supreme and was even above Ram. Its testimony is in his saying that he has provided a new home to Ram. Ayodhya has always been on the chessboard of the BJP. But Modi has managed to get the opportunity to encash the cheque. He is a ruthless chess master is evident from the manner he ignored the political astuteness and pain that Advani took to make him prime minister. If Advani had not brought out the “Ram-Rath”, Modi would not have dreamt of becoming the prime minister and RSS seeing its ambitious plan taking shape.
While addressing the VIP gathering at the shrine, Modi asked his critics to “introspect” and change their thinking. He made a tactical shift from “Jai Sri Ram” to “Jai Siya Ram”. It simply underscored that he wants to entice the huge population of Hindus who do not endorse RSS line of “Jai Sri Ram” as without their support he cannot imagine to win. (IPA Service)
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